The episode, which does not follow the ongoing narrative of the sitcom, is formatted as a variety show, featuring the members of the cast along with guest stars Jenny McCarthy and Amanda Bynes performing comedy sketches out of character, loosely oriented around a middle/high school theme.
Interspersed between sketches are musical performances from Sugar Ray, SHeDAISY, Smash Mouth, Uncle Kracker, and the Peter Frampton band.
"Drew Carey's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour" was seen by an estimated 10 million viewers, making it the lowest season opener for the show at the time.
SHeDAISY perform at The Warsaw Tavern and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Stiles) try to convince the band to let them be their back up singers.
At a slumber party, Kate O'Brien (Christa Miller) and Jenny McCarthy practice kissing on each other, but stop the sketch after noticing the male crew members watching them.
Meanwhile, Mimi Bobeck (Kathy Kinney) asks Smash Mouth not to steal her idea for a speed metal version of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
He rants that he does not need math, but then misses out on a party when the lead singer of Sugar Ray tells him the location in the form of a word problem.
[3] Production on the show continued while Carey recovered and filming on the episode was due to start during the week commencing August 13, 2001.
[2][4] "Drew Carey's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour" featured guest appearances from actresses Amanda Bynes and Jenny McCarthy.
"[8] In its original broadcast, "Drew Carey's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour" finished 52nd in the ratings for the week of September 24–30, 2001, with a 4.8 rating/8 share among households with televisions.
[10] The Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes reported that the show lost a large percent of its lead-in audience and commented "It also has absolutely no excuse for the lousy number, since it debuted opposite squat on the other networks.
[13] A reporter for the Beaver County Times chose the repeat of the episode as their Highlight of the day on September 4, 2002, noting that it featured "a less-weighty Drew".
[15] M.J. Wilde of The Augusta Chronicle noted, "Drew pumps up the volume in an hourlong season premiere that departs the format," and added, "You go, boy.